When school begins this week, Oceana County property owners will be paying more in taxes thanks to a school district merger that was approved without a public vote.
A few weeks after school ended in June, board members from the Mason-Lake Intermediate School District and the Oceana ISD agreed to a merger. Taxpayers in Oceana will now have to pay the higher millage rate assessed in Mason-Lake.
According to the Oceana County treasurer, the higher millage will cost Oceana County property owners an extra $1.02 million a year, or $150 for every $100,000 in taxable value.